Far From Dead
by Killer-Gir
Summary: I came up with this story while reading the Pendragon books so I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it, so I put it here! PLS R&R!
1. Ingwe

Chapter 1: Ingwë 

A ikanáro woke up that morning as usual. He got out of his nice, warm, comfy bed that begged him to lie back down for five minutes. But he couldn't. He had work to do, repairs to the castle had to be finished before the invasion and the new traps had to be reset. Now I'm sure your thinking, "what the heck are you talking about?" So, let me catch you up.

Aikanáro was just 12 when his parents sent him away to live in castle Elensar, as all boys of 12 did. This was normal; the people of Huör had been practicing this for many a year now. On the Ingwë 12th (November the 12th for all you not Nagmok people.), their parents would take all the 12 year olds to castle Elensar.

Elensar was approx. 50 angrod north of Huör. (An "angrod" is approx. two and one half miles.) The teenagers would live there until they're 18, then, they would walk all the way back home, alone. The journey was an amazing feat, for to get back to Huör, you had to scale mountains, and cross-river rapids (Which actually had a bridge 2 angrods upstream, but no one ever thought to cross it). Then, as a final test, you had to answer a question, it was the most difficult question imaginable, but I don't wish to spoil, you'll just have to wait.

Aikanáro was a normal teenager; he had brown hair so dark it looked black. H was around 2 gildors and 2 carans (One gildor is 4 feet and a caran is 2 inches, so he's 5 foot 4 inches.), which is tall for his age. He wasn't the most athletic, but he wasn't the least either, he didn't come in last, but he didn't come in first. But when it came to strategy, math, geography and history, he could out wit you in a second.

Since the war with the Agërth, Huör had been waiting for such a person. He was the most anticipated arrival at Elensar. Sarin, the Wise, who protected Elensar, had predicted his coming, and now that it had happened, he was ready.

When teenagers are taken to Elensar, they were blindfolded and put in the back of a Trin pulled cart. Trin have thick brown fur, deep-set eyes that make them look wise and old, and kind of sad. They were powerful and fast, and their eyes' did not deceive, they were smart. If something happened, they were quick to react and could solve it in their mind in a matter of seconds, they would rule humans if they had opposable thumbs. It was a bumpy ride and took 7 jels (hours) to get there.

Aikanáro took this same trip, uninterested the whole way, taking in the sites… all zero of them. He couldn't wait to get to the castle, he had no idea what to expect, since adults were forbidden to speak of the castle. When he got there and the blindfold was removed, he was astounded.

The castle was huge! It was 138 stories, and had 1000 rooms for teenagers. Made of white stone, which he guessed to be Helt (a common mineral, equal to quartz in rarity). It seemed to glimmer in the sunset; it reflected purple, blue, green, orange, yellow and red, which made it even more beautiful. At first he thought he had just dozed off on the ride, but realized quickly that this was no dream.

He walked towards the castle with confidence as the cart rode off into the distance. As he approached the castle he guessed it had been made in the Linwale Era, where Helt was the style, now a days, only very old places used it, about 10,000 year old places. He had never personally seen a Linwale Era building, but this is how the books described it at his old school, and he decided it as to much to think about right now.

He reached the large wooden doors that's polished-fine wood gleamed in suns' rays. Aikanáro looked around for some way to know on the door. After a few seconds of searching, he saw a rope that was hanging down off to the right of the door. He walked over to it and stared at it. Aikanáro followed it all the way up to see it disappear into the castle. He pulled on it. Nothing happened. So he kept tugging and the realized that there was coded text behind it. He looked at it and instantly knew what it was. The text was backwards, in both senses. He slowly decoded it. After two minutes, he figured out that is said "First Challenge, climb the rope". So Aikanáro followed the instructions. He planted his feet firmly against the wall, putting his weight on the rope. He slowly walked up the wall. His father had taken him mountain climbing like this before for training. He made his way up 100 stories; he had to take a break. He had been climbing for almost a jel now. He tied the rope around his waist so he could rest his arms. "Damned ropes," he said quietly to himself. Then he continued climbing. Finally, he reached the 138th floor. When he got off the rope and into the building he, fell over with exhaustion. Lucky enough, he fell forward. He was out. He dreamed of long corridors. When he woke up, he was still in the top floor of the building.

He looked around and saw that he was in an old room that had been long forgotten, except for the fire burning in the fireplace. There was a red comfy chair in front of it. Aikanáro approached slowly. When he reached the chair. The person in the chair said "Hello, Aikanáro." It was a female voice.

"Who are you?" Aikanáro asked.

"Don't you know?" she chuckled. "I thought you would have figured out who I am by now."

Aikanáro thought. He kept having names pop into his head but then pushed them out for impossibility. But one stuck. Sarin, the Wise. "You are Sarin, the Wise," he said slowly.

"Good job, although, many have figured it out faster," Sarin said sweetly.

"What do I do now?"

"Oh, this is your room for the next year, didn't you know?" Aikanáro stared back in disbelief. She then turned to look at him standing there dumbfounded. She then laughed. "I was kidding!"

"…"

"No sense of humor, any of you new students." She then stepped out from behind the chair. She was tall and slender. Beautiful is a good way to describe her, or even perfect. She started towards the door on the right side of the musty room. "Are you just gonna stand there and look like an idiot? Come on." Aikanáro ran to catch up to her. She walked down some spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs. 96 floors they descended. She took a door leading to the right. Aikanáro followed closely behind. She stopped at a room numbered 42-51. She turned and looked at me.

"This is your room. You will do work here. You will have a senior member assigned to you. He or she, she on this account, will help you get around the castle. If you have any questions ask her, or a teacher. For more important questions, such as the meaning of life, ask me. Got it?"

"No, but okay. Thank you so much."

"Your senior member will come at 3 jels after sunrise. Be ready, for you have a busy day ahead. Good bye, and your welcome."

"Good bye." She then turned and walked off. After a few steps she turned and walked back.

"Forgot something," Sarim said holding two keys, one red, and one blue. "You get the red one and your senior will get the blue one, remember to give it to them. And DON'T lose it." With that, she walked off.

Aikanáro unlocked the door to his room and stepped into a new life.


	2. The Tour

Chapter 2: Tour 

Aikanáro woke up the next morning with the sun just peaking out over the horizon. He yawned widely and got out of bed. He stepped on the cold floor and shivered. He searched around for his slippers. Then he remembered. He's no longer at home. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'I'll deal with it.'

Aikanáro walked over to the dresser, got some close, that looked like the school uniform, he hadn't seen it yet, so he wouldn't know, and went into the bathroom to change. After a quick shower, he got dressed and sat down on his bed. The sun had come up, and was just barely over the hills in the distance.

For the first time since he had got here, Aikanáro noticed the geography of the place. It was surrounded by mountains, except straight in front of them, there; there is just a big plains area, thing. The next thing he noticed he found odd. He saw that the school had guard towers, and all the guards had a crossbow, or bow and arrow. He thought why, and then pushed it out of his mind. After admiring the view, there came a knocking at the door. He got up and went to get it. When he opened it, he saw a girl about his size, standing there looking impatient.

"Hello, I'm Jenna," she said tiredly.

"I'm Aikanáro, nice to meet you."

"Well, let's get on with this tour shall we?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"Follow me."

Jenna started to walk down the hall. She was wearing a black robe that on the back said Maian, which Aikanáro assumed to be her last name. They walked down the hall until they came to a door that had a picture of a star that you would draw quickly. Jenna then said, "This is the boys bathroom, the upside down star is the girls bathroom." Then walking on, she said, "A star with a circle around it means it's the teachers bathroom." Aikanáro continued to follow her to some spiral stairs. 'Yaa, more stairs,' Aikanáro thought. Jenna then turned around blonde hairs flying. "These are the teachers & seniors stairs, if you get caught going down them, then you're in a whole lot of trouble. But, since you're with me, we can go down them. The normal stairs are further down to your right."

They started down the stairs. "We're getting off at level 23," Jenna said as they pass level 82. They continued. Descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, descending, until they reached the 23 level. On the way down, he saw people with black robes on, like Jenna, and he saw people with white robes on. He figured the white were teachers, but the funny thing was, they all seemed to be 18 or so.

When they stepped on to the landing of the 23 floor he saw that on the door there was a upside down star in a circle. He thought that meant that it was a girl bathroom for teachers, but when Jenna opened the door, he thought otherwise. He looked in and saw a long hallway, beautifully decorated with flowers. There were roses, lilies, lilacs, and a lot of other green, purple, red, blue, and yellow flowers that Aikanáro had never seen or heard of before.

Jenna let Aikanáro soke it in for a minute before saying, "This is the teachers and seniors level, this is where our dormitories are. Mine is 23-23. If you need help with something, go there, no one 'ill give you a hard time." They then stepped back onto the staircase. Once Aikanáro was out of the hall, Jenna shut the door. "We are now headed for floor 10. This is where all of your classes will be held for your first year." They walked down the spiral staircase. It was again a boring walk. Then, they finally reached floor 10's landing. Jenna, stepped forward and opened the door. Aikanáro expect to see the same thing he saw on floor 23, he thought there would be floors and such, but when they got to it, he realized how wrong he was. The floor was boring. It was like the hall his room was in. The walls were made out of stone blocks that were pushed into place. The floor was a solid gray concrete. The doors were made of wood with a metal "plaque" that said the name of the teacher of the class, and what they teach. Jenna started to walk down the hall. Aikanáro followed slowly, looking at all the names and all of the classes. Jenna stopped in front of a door that read "A. Pandora – Tactics". "This is Arcadia Pandora. She teaches tactics, obviously. You'll come to her class every day first. Just like when you went to your little kid school, this is your first jel," Jenna said looking at Aikanáro for some sort of understanding.

"When does her class start?" Aikanáro asked.

"Oh, you don't have a watch yet, do you? I'll have to get you one, but for now, it starts at 9."

"I don't under-" Aikanáro started to say, but was cutoff by Jenna.

"You'll understand when I get you a watch." Aikanáro just nodded and let her lead the way.

The two of them walked a little ways down the hall, and then stopped when they came to a door that said "S. Merdas – Geography".

"This is Shane Merdas's room. He'll teach you geography. He's traveled farther then any other person that works here. He has been beyond the mountain in the north, which is farther then anyone in our known history has traveled. Not many people get into this class. He's been a teacher since he was 16, and he's been a good friend of mine since I was 12. He is one who can be trusted," Jenna said staring off into space for a second in thought. But then she snapped back to reality. "Uh, you have him at 10, as soon as you're done with Pandora, come here."

They started to walk, but stopped only a few classrooms down from Merdas's. This one read "C. Aristophanes – History".

"This is Confucius Aristophanes. You'll have him at 11. He's really into history; so don't insult how he talks about history, 'cause, well, it's a bad idea. He's a good person," Jenna finished solemly.

They turned around. "You're very lucky. You have two classes across from each other, that's the best," Jenna said smiling. The sign read "J. Wyleeum – Arithmetic".

"This is Jupiter Wyleeum, he teaches math. He's a really fun person. You'll probably learn faster in this class then any other because he makes you want to learn. Now that's an accomplishment!" Jenna said smiling. "You'll have him at 12. Only three more classes to go."

They started to walk again. This time they went to the end of the hall. There was a staircase, not spiral, but still a staircase.

"This is the staircase you'll be using. At this time, but that I mean at 1, you'll go down to the 1 floor. There you will eat lunch. If you can wake up, at 7, there is a breakfast. Then, at 18, there is a dinner, everyday. It's really good, so you should really try and go to all three meals." Then Jenna turned on her heel and started to walk back. Aikanáro didn't notice for a second, then turned and ran to catch up with her.

After walking for a few minutes, they reached another classroom. This one read "N. Shyam – Language Arts".

"This is Nikostratos Shyam. He hates his first name, so don't call him Nikostratos. He'll teach you proper writing, and grammar. Learn fast is all I have to say," Jenna walk again down the hall. "You have him at 14," she called back. Aikanáro ran, once again, to catch up with her. They walked down the hall some more. They stopped at a door that read "R. Wotan – Weapons Specialist".

"This is Rhea Wotan. If there's a weapon that exists and she doesn't know about it, then it's the end of the world. She's not one to have on your bad side either. She's a powerful ally, and a powerful enemy, so be careful. You'll have her at 15."

They walked a little ways, but Aikanáro still had a question, so he decided to ask. "Are all the teachers 18 or under?" Jenna laughed.

"Yup. Sorry I laughed, but I've been here for 6 years so I'm used it. It just seems so funny," she said, stopping in front of another door that read "L. Kallisto – Science". "This is Lilith Kallisto," Jenna said still sort of laughing. "She teaches all science, from the ground, to the sky. I wouldn't recommend anyone else for you, actually, I wouldn't recommend anyone else for anyone! You'll have her at 16. This is your last hour. After, you'll have a free jel to do whatever. That's all for our tour. Remember, any questions? Come to me at 23-23." Then, with a smile, she turned and started to walk back to the spiral staircase.

"What about the watch thing you were talking about?" Aikanáro called after her. Jenna stopped in her tracks. Then, she laughed.

"Sorry. You're question made me completely forget about it," she said. Jenna turned and walked into one of the classes. Then a second later came out holding something that looked like a short thick string, and in the middle there was a circular thing with an arrow pointing towards an 8 that was engraved on the circle.

"This is a watch," Jenna said holding it out to him. "You put it on your wrist, like so," she put his watch on his right wrist like a bracelet. "You see the arrow is called the "jel hand" and it points to different jels. When I said 9 it means when the jel hand is pointing toward the number nine. Do you understand?" She asked.

"No, but I'll figure it out," Aikanáro said smiling.

"Good, see ya later!" Jenna said as she turned and walked away. "You have and hour before your first class, I'd recommend going to your room and relaxing," she called back.

Aikanáro turned and walked to the normal staircase and started up it. He touched his watch and felt some paper on his arm under the watch. He looked at it to see there was a paper there. He pulled it out and looked at it. It said his schedule, starting with "A. Pandora – Tactics – 9" and ending with "L. Kallisto – Science – 16". Aikanáro looked back down at his watch. It started at 0 then 1 which was to the right of 0, then 2 which was to the right of 1 then 3, then 4, then 5, then 6, all the way to 23 in a circle. It didn't take a genius to figure this out. So he continued up the stairs. Eventually, he reached level 46. Then he went to his room and sat down on his bed. He looked down at his watch to see that it was inbetween 8 and 9. 'Meybe that means I have ½ a jel before 9,' Aikanáro thought. 'Wait, wasn't it at 8, when I was at the 10th floor? Maybe I need to go back down.' He got off of his bed, and looked out of his door to see the hall was coming to life. People were coming out of their rooms and walking toward to stairs. They were all wearing the same thing that Aikanáro was wearing. None of them were carrying anything so he decided he didn't need anything. He entered the hall, and a new life awaited him.


End file.
